Blockbusters is a British televisiongame show based upon an American game show of the same name in which contestants answer trivia questions to complete a path across or down a game board of hexagons. The programme premiered on 29 August 1983 on ITV and ran for eleven series, coming to an end on 19 May 1993. Blockbusters was revived for four additional series, the most recent of which aired on Challenge in 2012.

Bob Holness was the original presenter, staying on for the first eleven series of the first incarnation and a 1994 revival on Sky One. A 1997 edition featuring adults was produced for one series on BBC Two with Michael Aspel presenting. Sky One brought Blockbusters back under its original rules in 2001 with Liza Tarbuck at the helm, and the Challenge series was presented by Simon Mayo.

The show's first series, in 1983, was recorded at the ATVElstree Centre (which was still owned by Central until 1984 when it was sold to the BBC). Subsequent series were produced at Central's Nottingham "Television House" studios; however, at least one season (1989–90) was filmed at Central's Birmingham studios. The series was filmed in the summer months over a 6–8 week period, with five episodes being made each day.

In the final episode of each day, the contestants were allowed to do a "hand jive" during the end credits, therefore only appearing on each Friday's episode. The hand jive first appeared in 1986 after one of the contestants was bored while sitting through filming several shows a day waiting for his turn. It lasted for the rest of the original series' run. The hand-clapping sequence was referenced by Half Man Half Biscuit in their song "Hedley Verityesque".

The original game board was powered using 40 slide projectors, each with its own set of slides for the different Letters and Gold Run questions, and took up the entire height of the studio. Slides were preloaded onto carousels with enough slides for about 3 - 5 shows. Carousels took about 30 minutes to change over. There were 15 different board combinations (5 sets X 3 games per match) which meant the same letter combinations would reappear. The letter 'Q' was only on one board, the letter 'Y' on two boards. All 15 boards followed in the same sequence but if the third game in a set was not needed (as it was best of three) the carousel would skip onto the Gold Run (missing the third board) and then onto the first game of the next set of three.

In 1987 and 1988, readers of TVTimes voted the series the most popular quiz show on television.[3]

The original theme music was written by Ed Welch, who also updated the music for the second Sky series in 2001. The first Sky series kept the same opening titles used from 1987 on the original ITV run (as it continued to be produced by Central). The original theme in C major was an upbeat pop track incorporating piano, strings, drum machine and various other 1980s synthesized sounds reminiscent of the day - the four-note opening motif of Beethoven's 5th Symphony is nicely mixed into the theme at the precise moment the composer's head appears on a flipping hexagon.

The BBC version in 1997 used a much different piece of music written by Henry Marsh and Paul Boross than previous, ditching the signature theme of the ITV and Sky series. It is said by some that the theme is similar to the original theme with notes swapped around but for unknown reasons, the BBC either couldn't or wouldn't use the original theme; therefore, they composed a theme as close to the original as possible but different enough to avoid possible allegations of copyright infringement.

Rage Music created the version used by Challenge, which is an updated version of the original theme, primarily using an electric guitar.[4]

The original 1983–86 title sequence featured flipping hexagons with various images on them running down an encyclopaedia page. The title sequence used from 1986 to 1994 is a city pays homage to other science-fiction films such as Metropolis (1927) and Blade Runner (1982). In the 1994 Sky series the opening titles were cut short, not featuring the hexagons flying over the studio like the 1986–93 titles.

The title sequence used in the 1997 series was a complete different theme tune (although as mentioned above, it might have been similar to the original theme but with several notes swapped around). featuring a golden head with hexagons showing clips. The title sequence used in 2000–01 featured people throwing and catching the letters that spell "Blockbusters" using the Ed Welch theme again.

The 2012 title sequence features references to all previous title sequences, mainly hexagons - but also with more subtle features like the golden head (as seen in the 1997 BBC version), and the planet Earth and a city-like structure as seen in the popularised 1987–95 versions.

Screenshot from the 1986-94 titles showing the game board without letters

A solo player competed against a pair of contestants, thus setting out to prove or disprove the old adage that two heads really were better than one.

The game board consisted of 20 interlocking hexagons, arranged in five columns of four. Each hexagon contained a letter of the alphabet (except X and Z). A contestant would choose one of the letters, and would be asked a general-knowledge trivia question whose correct answer began with the chosen letter. (A typical question might be, "What 'P' is a musical instrument with 88 keys?" The answer would be a piano.) The phrasing that contestants would use to ask for a letter has entered the language, and is frequently heard to this day. It is also the source of a pun - "Can I have a 'P' please, Bob?"; 'having a pee' being slang for urinating.

The game board is designed in such a way that a tied game was not a possible finishing result. Even if all 20 hexagons were filled, there would always be a winner.

The game began with a toss-up question to play for control of the board, starting with a letter that was chosen at random. The teams or players could buzz-in during the middle of reading of a question. If a player or team got the correct answer, they gained control of that hexagon and were given the chance to choose another one. If the contestant answered incorrectly, the opposing team or player was given a chance to answer it after the host re-read the question. If nobody answered it correctly, the host asked another question whose answer began with that same letter. Each correct answer won £5. In the case of the two-player team, each player won whatever money the team accumulated.

The solo player attempted to complete a vertical connection of white hexagons from the top of the board to the bottom; that required at least four correct answers. The pair attempted to connect a path from left to right with blue hexagons, (purple during the Aspel era) requiring at least five spaces. The first side to connect their path won the game. The first player or team to win two games won the match. When either party was one correct answer away from completing their path, the hexagons forming their path would flash to indicate this. If both were one correct answer away, all lit hexagons on the board would flash, indicating that the situation was effectively "Blockbusters either way", and the next player to give a correct answer would win the game.

All players received a "Blockbusters" Concise Oxford Dictionary and sweatshirt in the original ITV series. By 1986 the sweatshirt had been replaced by a "Blockbusters" branded cardigan in a choice of colours and a "Blockbusters" embossed filofax accompanied the dictionary. In the first Sky One series in 1994 it was a Blockbusters Encyclopedia and T-shirt. In the BBC Two 1997 series it was a fountain pen. In the second Sky One series it was a Blockbusters Dictionary and a CD ROM. In the Challenge series the players receive an ElonexE-book reader.

The winner of the match went on to play the Gold Run bonus round; if the pair won, only one player on the team could play, with the turns alternating at each Gold Run. The board consisted of a pattern of hexagons similar to that of the main game, but the hexagons had 2 to 4 letters inside them; those letters were the initials of the correct answer. (For instance, if a contestant chose "BS" and the host said "Where people kiss in Ireland", the correct answer would be "Blarney Stone.") When the contestant guessed correctly, the hexagon turned gold. However, if the contestant passed, it turned black, blocking the player's path; it was then up to the contestant to work around it. The object was to horizontally connect the left and right sides of the board within 60 seconds (or before blocking off all possible horizontal connections).

If the players were successful they won a special prize. If the Gold Run was not won, each correct answer paid £10. Defending champions could keep going for up to five matches undefeated, in order to win an even bigger prize. From the seventh ITV series, it was reduced to three, so that more contestants could take part over the course of a series. In the first Sky One series this was changed back up to five matches and reduced to three again on BBC Two. In the second Sky One series, it increased to five again. For the Challenge series, the maximum amount remains at five matches.

A famous short piece of music (three sharp notes on a synth-like horn in a slapstick style) was played if a contestant ran out of time on a Gold Run, often producing amused reactions in the studio; the same three notes played on an electric guitar act as the time's-up buzzer on the current Challenge version.

BBC Two used adult contestants, instead of sixth formers. This version was broadcast in 1997 and presented by Michael Aspel; the show stayed with the same format. Famous contestants included Stephen Merchant.

This is the only version to use purple hexagons; all other versions still used blue to represent the pair of players. The solo player still played white hexagons.

In 1994, Sky One created a new series with original host, Bob Holness. It was produced by Central, which had made the programme since 1983, and sponsored by Thomas Cook. Sky One brought the series back again in 2000, this time produced by Grundy (which owned the format) and presented by Liza Tarbuck, but it failed to capture the same degree of popularity as the Holness incarnation. The format stayed the same in both versions.

On 14 April 2007 at 20:40, Vernon Kay hosted a networked edition of Gameshow Marathon on ITV1 in which celebrity contestants revived the classic 1980s Bob Holness version of the show. It also featured an edited version of the show's opening titles.

It was announced on 10 November 2011 that game show channel Challenge would revive the show in 2012, under the name "All New Blockbusters", with adult contestants rather than students. Forty episodes were recorded from 9 to 19 February 2012[5] with Simon Mayo hosting the show.[6]

The series started airing on 14 May 2012[7][8] with the first episode dedicated to the memory of original host Bob Holness, who died on 6 January 2012. The series also featured contestant Claire Scott who made her third appearance on Blockbusters.[9]

The show aired at 20:00 every weekday with an omnibus showing split over Saturday and Sunday mornings, plus a repeat showing of the previous night's episode at 17:00.

The series was put on hold for a few weeks and resumed transmission on 9 July 2012, starting with a celebrity special featuring Konnie Huq (who had previously been on Blockbusters) amongst others. During the break, the first 20 episodes were repeated (with the "All New" removed from the title).

Blockbusters spawned a number of items of merchandise. 12 quiz books were released from the show[10] which also led to a spin-off: "Blockbusters Gold Run Volumes 1-5" being produced.[11]

In 1986, Waddingtons created a board game version of the show, which was named Game of the Year in 1986 by The British Association of Toy Retailers.[12] This led to several successful spin offs; a "Gold Run" Card Game, a Junior Blockbusters board game (a children's edition) and a Super Blockbusters board game (essentially, a second edition standard game with its own set of "Gold Run" cards).[13] A computer game version of the show was also created for the Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro and ZX Spectrum.

In 2006, a DVD Interactive Game version was released with Bob Holness reprising his position at the helm. The DVD is based on the same format as the TV show, with virtual set design and game graphics matching the original version of the programme.[14]

Blockbusters was one of the first UK game shows to run in a 'straddling' format, which allowed for games to last a different length of time, meaning that episodes would often begin and end mid-game, and matches often crossed over into two episodes. The show was generally screened at 5:15pm Monday to Friday, filling the half-hour timeslot between Children's ITV and the ITNNews at 5:45, with a similar timeslot allocated on Saturdays for a while. The show was always transmitted on the ITV network, although the first series was repeated on Channel 4 during the summer of 1984, in the Countdown slot. Blockbusters was never networked across ITV's sixteen regions, this meant that it was occasionally possible to retune the television to a neighbouring region and watch a different episode. Blockbusters did share its time slot with other game shows such as Ask No Questions, Connections, and Winner Takes All.

In 1983, all regions started broadcasting the series, some stations moved Blockbusters to an earlier slot because there was no space available at 5:15pm, as these stations were broadcasting soap operas.

Border, Central, Granada, HTV, TVS, UTV and Yorkshire: Started on 29 August 1983 and finished on 4 November 1983. Broadcast Mondays to Fridays at 5:15pm.

Anglia, Channel, Grampian, Scottish, Thames, TSW and Tyne Tees: Started on 5 September 1983 and finished on 11 November 1983. Broadcast Mondays to Fridays at 3:30pm.

Anglia, Grampian, Scottish and TVS: Wednesdays to Fridays at 5:15pm and Saturdays at 5:05pm. Mondays and Tuesdays were filled with either Emmerdale Farm or Sons and Daughters on TVS.

Thames/LWT: Wednesdays to Fridays at 5:15pm and Saturdays at 5:05pm. (Mondays to Wednesdays and Fridays and Saturdays at 5:15pm from September 1985.)

TSW: The second series was not transmitted at all because the 5.15pm slot was taken up on all dates with Crossroads, The Young Doctors and Emmerdale Farm which was later moved into early peaktime in 1985 (as it was on Thames). The Thirds series episodes were shown during the summer holiday mornings ( Monday to Saturday) from 1 July to 24 August 1985. The fourth was broadcast on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays at 5:15pm. The fifth and sixth series were broadcast on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 5:15pm.

Channel: Same as TSW's schedules until January 1986, it was then switched to follow TVS's schedules. This meant that approximately 16-20 episodes were skipped as TVS were further ahead.

All regions expect TSW broadcast the show from 2 September 1988 to 10 February 1989 from Mondays to Fridays at 5:15pm and Saturdays at 5:05pm. However, some editions were shown on Sundays on Anglia and Scottish instead of Saturdays.

TSW: Mondays to Fridays at 5:15pm and Saturdays at 5:05pm from 3 October 1988 to 10 February 1989.

No episodes broadcast on ITV between 19 September - 3 October due to the 1988 Olympics.

The show was delayed by all the ITV regions until January 1990 as no slots were available to broadcast the show. This was because Home and Away took over the 5:10pm slot and Emmerdale was now being broadcast at 6:30pm, but was moved to 7:00pm in January 1990. Anglia, Central and TSW were showing repeats episodes from September to December 1989.

Anglia, Central and Thames: From January 1990 onwards, Blockbusters was broadcast three times a week from Mondays to Thursdays at 5:10pm and broadcast Home and Away at 6:00pm. Days of the week changed and additional episodes were added as well to make it four per week on occasions.

LWT: No longer broadcast any episodes from this point onwards.

Scottish: Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:30pm from January to April 1990. From May, it was moved to a daytime slot, around 1:30pm three times a week. In 1992, it was broadcast from Mondays to Thursdays at 1:45pm.

Granada moved the time slots around during this period. It was moved to 5:10pm in 1991 and it was moved again to 6:00pm from Wednesdays to Fridays in 1992. UTV reduced its times slots to one episode a week from January to October 1992, then from 26 October 1992 it was broadcast at 3:20pm from Mondays to Fridays. TVS reduced its times slots to two episodes a week for most of 1990 but during 1991-2, it went back to three episodes plus an additional episode around Saturday lunchtimes. TSW also dropped its time slots to two episodes per week every so often; however, in a bid to catch back up the series, it was moved to 5:10pm from Mondays to Fridays in September 1992. For around 18 months around 1991-2, Tyne Tees started broadcasting its more local output during its 6:30pm time slot, which resulted in fewer episodes per week. When Tyne Tees and Yorkshire decided to merge their scheduling from January 1993, Tyne Tees increased its output to catch up (in November 1992 it was showing the series four times a week - Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays), but had to drop over 50 episodes.

A number of new ITV companies come in to being, which resulted in regional news being extending to a full hour from 6:00pm in some areas, meaning a number of stations moved the series back before CITV.

Anglia and Central: Mondays to Wednesdays at 5:10pm, then switching to Wednesdays to Fridays at 5:10pm. Completed on 19 May 1993.

Carlton: Mondays to Fridays at 3:20pm. Completed on 4 June 1993.

HTV: Mondays to Thursdays at 1:45pm. Completed on 2 August 1993.

Scottish: Continued to broadcast the series four times a week. Completed on 2 September 1993. Reappeared daily at 5:25am during Xmas period.

Westcountry: Mondays to Fridays at 1:45pm. Completed on 3 September 1993.

Border, Tyne Tees and Yorkshire: Continued on Tuesdays to Thursdays at 6:30pm. Completed on 30 September 1993.

Grampian: Mondays to Fridays at 1:45pm. Completed on December 1993.

Meridian: Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 6:30pm. Completed on December 1993.

Granada: Still broadcasting 3 episodes most weeks at 5:10pm. Completed on January 1994.

Ulster: Mondays to Fridays at 3:20pm until August 1993, then switching to Saturday lunchtime until completed 15 January 1994.

Challenge TV aired Blockbusters from 1997–98 showing re-runs from the 1991 series. In 2004, Saturday Night Takeaway showed clips from a 1992 episode with a contestant who was in the audience did not get very far on the show and only won £10. Following requests on the (now "defunct") Challenge forums to air the show, Challenge managed to acquire Blockbusters from 2004 to 2006, but they only showed the first 25 episodes from 1992, which generated low ratings. Carlton Select also showed old shows while that channel was still operational. Challenge re-acquired Blockbusters but this time, they acquired 72 episodes from the 1992 series, and broadcast them during 2011. On 8 May 2014, they acquired the very first series,[36] which aired from 26 May.[37]

Germany – A German version called Supergrips (Super Grips) aired from 1988 to 1995, first on the BR network, then on the Dritten Network for the rest of the run. Frank Laufenberg was the show's original host; he was later replaced by Ingo Dubinski in 1991.

Indonesia – The Indonesian version called Aksara Bermakna (Meaningful Literacy) aired on two networks, first on TVRI from 1989 to 1996 with Kepra as host, then on antv for a brief period from 1997 to 1999, this time with Anton Gemilar as host. It was created by Ani Sumadi.

Netherlands – A Dutch version of the show called Blokletters (Block Letters) ran for a brief period from 1986 on AVRO with Fred Oster at the helm. Its set with a mix of half light and dark colours and gameplay is very similar to that of the short-lived 1980–82 U.S. original.

Paraguay – In Paraguay, called Blockbuster, like the Australian version, where two schools competed against each other. It aired on Telefuturo for a brief period in 1999, its hosts were Clari Arias and Leti Medina.

Sweden – SVT in Sweden had their own version very similar to the UK one. 2 mot 1 (2 to 1) was a weekly afternoon programme forming part of SVT's youth output. The programme was produced in Malmö airing from 1998 to 1999 and was hosted by Stellan Sundahl, until he died from a heart attack in 1999.

Turkey – The Turkish version called Haydi Bastir (Let's Print) aired on Show TV from 1992 to 1993, its host was Mim Kemal Öke.

United Arab Emirates – Blockbusters (the UK edition) was such a sensation with the entire English speaking expatriate community in Dubai, U.A.E, that the city nearly came to a shut-down during its evenings broadcast on Channel 33. Although there was no separate local TV version, the local paper, Gulf News, ran a yearly Blockbusters quiz competition, often hosted by Bob Holness himself, between 1988 and 1994.[40] The Gulf News Blockbusters show was telecast on Dubai TV too and was broadcast as a month long event, with the heats during Ramadan and the finals after Eid al-Fitr.

After a 14-year long hiatus, the contest was revived in 2008 as part of the newspaper's 30th anniversary celebrations. It was also held in 2009 where the team "Anonymoys +3" whose members included Rahul Menon and Aayush Rajasekaran of The Indian High School, Dubai stood first place. This marked the second year that a team from the Indian High School defeated one from long-time rivals The Modern High School to claim the first place.[41]